6. The hunt commences

Hilda got up. "Can you give me my broom? I have to find my necklace in order to find a way to get back home."

The two elderly people exchanged glances again. "Of course, dear, just follow me and I will hand you your broom."

Hilda snatched her shoulderbag from the cot near the wall and walked through the corridor, following Tilly. The broom was waiting outside for her, leaning against the wall next to the backdoor. When she saw it, she was even more convinced that these people were magical: they had put the broom up in the correct way, with the bristles up.

"There you go, child," Tilly said. "Do take care. I am sure you'll find your necklace."

"Indeed," said the old man. "After all, you have your ball again."

"Yes." The wicked witch held the broom close to her body, energising it for flight. "I have to thank you for your generous help." The words were hard for her, but she had to show courtesy, or these people would make her life hell, she was convinced of that.

"Good luck, young woman," the ancient mage said. "Godspeed."

Hilda was not sure what he meant, but it had to be a good thing, so she nodded. Then bowed. Carefully. She took two steps backwards, as the rules of obedience prescribed, then she turned and walked off, to a place where she could question the crystal ball.

The two people looked at the grey-haired young woman as she walked down the street.

"Poor deranged kid," Tilly said. "Perhaps we should have called the doctor or something."

The old man shook his head. "She'll be fine. She's just a bit crazy, nothing really dangerous, I am sure about it."

Tilly shrugged. "Come back inside, ancient one, it's time for your arthritis pills."

Hilda walked away from the house of the two old magicians. She was surprised how well these two had their magical abilities under control, even with probing she had not found anything. Their shields had to be phenomenal. Her mind was already racing, going over the right spells to seduce the crystal ball in telling its secrets, as she was looking for a good place to sit and actually perform the seeing.

She passed a tavern that had a sign "Coffee" outside the door. Intrigued by the drink, she went inside and found a small table at the back, a bit secluded and out of view. She had barely sat herself down, when someone came to her table.

The waiter frowned at the broom, but did not feel obliged to make a comment about that. "What'll it be?"

"Coffee, of course," said Hilda, wondering why the man bothered to ask. "It says outside that you have this."

"Sure. What kind? Regular, strong, mocha, latte?"

"Do you have the kind with extra Arabica added to the normal roast?" This was her trick question.

"Nope. Just regular, strong, mocha and latte."

"Bring me regular. You may go." Hilda waved her hand.

Another frown later, the waiter left her alone, wondering what kind of weirdo had come in just now.

Hilda took the ball from her pocket and placed it on the table. She thought it best to wait until the servant had brought her beverage. Then she could seal off her area and start her quest with the crystal.

The waiter came with the coffee, put it on the table and looked at the ball for a few seconds. The look that this earned him from Hilda was convincing enough to make him retreat to the main area of the restaurant.

A snip of her fingers was then all it took to separate her table from the rest of the place. Hilda sipped the coffee. "Urgh. No Arabica. There is no witch or wizard at work here, I know that." She was grateful that herknowledge of this strange land was growing so rapidly. If the unfortunate would happen and she could not return to her own land, this would not be a bad place to linger for a while after all.

She closed her eyes for a moment, her hands on the table, thumbs up and palms facing the crystal ball. Slowly she envisioned her necklace, interspersing it with the desire to have it back. Show me, crystal ball, where the necklace is. Where is my property, my means to return to my homeland...

Patiently she worked up the power, drawing energy from the coffee that went cold and white, and from the strange light in a ball that was over her head. When warmth spread in her palms, Hilda opened her eyes and looked at the crystal. There were images forming. A fog, swirling and dancing in a mesmerising manner. Hilda leaned over the table, until her wart was almost against the ball. The images were there, very clear, but hair of a unicorn, so small.

In the ball Hilda saw movement. Hair was flying, there was wind and motion, and a roar she had heard before. It was like the roar of the caged animal in the cart. Then, and there her heart jumped, she saw her necklace. It was found. It rested on skin, which was good. That would keep it charged. "Where is the skin," she mumbled, "where is the movement, the roar... show me..." Her voice dropped so low that only a mere crackle came from her throat, but the crystal ball understood her.

The necklace, her dear and wanted necklace, was around the neck of one of the women from the sad gang who were travelling on their two-wheeled contraptions. Hilda had her self-control grab her instinctive desire and fight it while it was twisting to get away from her, urging her to go out, jump on the broom and charge upon these miscreants.

Calm on the surface, but seething under the skin, she looked around for clues where the travelling gang was. There were wide roads with white lines on them. There were wide open spaces to the left of the road, and hills to the right. There was a smell of flowers. A slight revulsion tried to take over, but she ignored it. More and more little signs came to her, in the tiny images that unfolded before her inside the little crystal ball. Announcements on poles on the side of the road, in screaming colours and large letters. Fenced in cattle here and there. More and more she became familiar with the area, with its position compared to where she was now. This part of the planning was crucial: staking out the proper territory where the hunt was going to be staged. She had to get this right the first time.

Crystal balls are quite fickle. Charging the ball itself is already hard work. Storing all the energy in such a sphere is difficult and can even be dangerous, as the slightest unevenness in the crystaline structure may cause a rupture in the object and unleash the energy that's been stored in it already. Add to that the effect of crystal splinters flying all around at high speed, and you have an idea of the problems of that phase already. Then there is the area in which you use a crystal ball. It has to be free of unwanted energies, powers that can interfere or influence the imagery that the ball is able to show. Worst of all, as you may understand, is the fact that something a ball just refuses to work.

Hilda however was a professional. She knew witchcraft , and witchcraft knew her. They went back a long time together, and her powers did not let her down. She slowly developed a feel for the place that the gang was riding through. There was no mistake possible, she knew where she had to go. Slowly she sat up again and let her hands slide to the sides of the small table. The images in the crystal ball dissipated, turned into the grey fog again for a short while, and then they faded entirely.

"Very good, my little precious one," Hilda said as she tucked the ball in a small pocket of her shoulderbag. "We shall rise up and find this person Bubba and his bride. We'll retrieve the necklace. And then..."

The shield that she had put up had hidden all her actions from the people in the restaurant. The cackling laughter that she uttered was not held back by the shield. Hilda had not taken that little fact into account; she'd never had to.

With the coffee gone bad there was no reason for her to drink it. She got up, dropped the shielding and was stared at by at least a dozen people.

Hilda stared back at them. As this was not meant to become a stand-off, she just picked up her broom and started walking through the main area of the restaurant, eyes diverting as she passed the people who were directing said eyes. There was one person who did not divert his eyes and that was the waiter.

"Miss, you forgot to pay. One regular coffee."

That halted Hilda dead in her tracks. Pay. She knew what it was, but she was not used to it, and she was not inclined to pick up the habit in this strange place. But she was in a hurry too. Conscience and urge were battling. Conscience won. She manifested a gold coin and put it on a table. "This should cover the expense. But never stop me again," she warned the man. Her nose wiggled. With a look that prophesied doom she walked out of the restaurant.

As the waiter stared at the coin, several people got up, trying to see what this weird woman with her broom was upto next. The waiter tried to walk to the door and found that his shoes were firmly attached to the floor.

Hilda mounted the broom and shot into the air. Far below three cars crashed into each other, as their respective drivers had a moment of lack of attention for traffic, seeing a woman and her broomstick mocking the most basic law of nature they knew.

Higher and higher she rose, flying in wide circles, peering out into the distance. The biggest mistake most beginner witches made was to think that flying a broom was easy. Hilda knew that the actual going up and making the broom move was not, indeed. But finding your way when you are high up in the sky, where everything looks different and there are no clues of where you are, was a completely different ballgame. Many a young witch had drifted off to the big seas and wasn't heard or seen ever again.

The wicked witch was experienced in these things, and it did not take her long to see what route she had to take to catch up with the brutes on their roaring contraptions. She urged the broom to a speed that was only feasible for the best flyers. A tremble, a shake, a cough. Everything like that could mean an end to the flight at velocities like these. But it was necessary. Hilda wanted to retrieve what she wanted so desperately.

After a while of flying, things started to look familiar. The large sign, green, with big black letters. A field with cattle. A large red sign with 2 connected golden arches. And then, finally, in the distance, there were the six monster-carts with only two wheels...